Though there is an increasing need for mental health services in Kenya, the country has only 79 working psychiatrists, according to the African Mental Health Foundation; that’s one for every 500,000 people. One woman is using technology to work around the shortage and bring scant mental health resources to Kenyans.

The Ebola epidemic has slowed to a trickle in Liberia, and the American soldiers who helped with the medical response effort have ended their missions. But aid workers caution that vigilance — and more infrastructure — is still needed.

Everyone knows that Alzheimer's can be a devastating problem for the elderly and their families. What many people don't know is that women over 65 have a much higher risk of developing Alzheimer's than men, and scientists are trying to figure out why.

A new drug called spice is only the latest in a series of synthetic drugs that have flooded the Russian market over the years. Offering a cheap and readily available high, Russian health experts are trying to keep kids away, but keeping up with drug dealers is proving difficult.

Coffee is a crucial part of many morning routines. If it's part of your morning routine, be glad. New research suggests that coffee, in fairly large quantities, actually presents significant health benefits.

In researching death, a reporter finds a surprise: "Yes, it would have been great to hear Mozart playing live. Or maybe watch Shakespeare putting on a show. But until recently, life for most people was nasty, brutish and above all —short."

There are vast racial differences in the occurrence of cancer — in breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men. And there's a great deal of difference in the mortality rates in men who are black and men who are white as well.

"What I felt on the Ganges," says Atul Gawande, the surgeon and author of Being Mortal, "was he had brought us there and connected himself to all that was important to him, but he was connecting us as well."

In the 18th century, King Louis XVI underwent a highly controversial medical procedure: smallpox inoculation. To commemorate his new immunity, milliners in France concocted a new fashion. A historian says we need a gimmick like that today to help us through a measles outbreak.

At rural hospitals in Africa, you'll often see high-tech medical equipment discarded and unused. In places where electricity is unreliable and spare parts are unavailable, expensive devices can quickly become worthless. So Dr. Oluyombo Awojobi designs and builds his own low-tech devices to keep his hospital running.

It was a rare political moment: the US Secretary of State paying a compliment to Cuba. But that’s what happened Friday when John Kerry commended Cuba's role in West Africa, where the island nation has sent more health workers than any other country — and plans to send even more in the coming weeks.

Scientists are warning West African villagers to stop hunting bush meat and to stay away from fruit bats as they circle in a possible animal source for the latest Ebola outbreak. The Ebola virus lives in fruit bats, scientists believe, and is threatening communities who are already facing the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history.

Scientists say a girl born with HIV two-and-a-half years ago appears to have been cured. Though the apparent breakthrough is limited to one infant case, the news may give hope to the millions of people living with the HIV virus around the globe.

Updated

10/15/2014 - 2:00pm

How easily can you catch Ebola? What does it do to your body? Emmanuel d'Harcourt, senior health director of the International Rescue Committee, which is helping fight the Ebola crisis in West Africa, offers some answers.

In Nepal, as many as a quarter of newborn deaths could be prevented with the use of an inexpensive antiseptic ointment, routinely used after childbirth in the US. The challenge is getting it to the women who need it in time.

Demand for medical care will grow. One possible solution would be to allow more foreign-trained doctors to work in the US. Many are ready to practice but the US system for residency keeps them out of the running. Marina Giovannelli of WLRN-Miami has more.

The new NOVA special, "Vaccines: Calling the Shots," explores the lingering global resistance to vaccination campaigns. Case studies from around the world explain just how bad the impact can be when groups opt out of childhood shots.

Yoga's not the first thing that springs to mind when thinking about treatment for PTSD in veterans. But from the VA a to the Pentagon, yoga classes are becoming not just commonplace, but in some rehabilitation programs mandatory.

Despite all the warnings about tobacco and lung cancer, it's not easy to stop teenagers from smoking. And in Detroit's large Arab American community, health officials say teen smoking is on the rise. But it's not cigarettes luring young smokers there. It's the hookah or shisha--the kind of waterpipe popular throughout the Middle East.

The new NOVA special, "Vaccines: Calling the Shots," explores the lingering global resistance to vaccination campaigns. Case studies from around the world explain just how bad the impact can be when groups opt out of childhood shots.

The wildly popular tweet was aimed at a nation that stigmatized all Africans during the Ebola outbreak. While the US government recommends all its citizens get inoculations, including one for measles, many states allow exemptions for personal or philosophical concerns. Immigrants, however, don't enjoy that choice.

It was a rare political moment: the US Secretary of State paying a compliment to Cuba. But that’s what happened Friday when John Kerry commended Cuba's role in West Africa, where the island nation has sent more health workers than any other country — and plans to send even more in the coming weeks.

A photo of three pioneering women doctors has been circulating in social media -- but they're not wearing white lab coats. They're wearing culturally significant dress and they represent the first women doctors from their countries, back in the 1800s.

Updated

10/15/2014 - 2:00pm

How easily can you catch Ebola? What does it do to your body? Emmanuel d'Harcourt, senior health director of the International Rescue Committee, which is helping fight the Ebola crisis in West Africa, offers some answers.

At rural hospitals in Africa, you'll often see high-tech medical equipment discarded and unused. In places where electricity is unreliable and spare parts are unavailable, expensive devices can quickly become worthless. So Dr. Oluyombo Awojobi designs and builds his own low-tech devices to keep his hospital running.